United Airlines passenger assaults man during flight from SFO to Dulles – NBC Bay Area

A United Airlines flight from San Francisco International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport left passengers scared when one of the travelers attacked a deaf, non-verbal man sleeping on the plane on Monday.

Sandhya Gupta, a witness to the incident, said the attacker was wearing a neon green jacket and started attacking the man sitting in front of Gupta two hours into the non-stop flight.

According to an FBI affidavit, passenger Everett Nelson had just left the restroom when he physically attacked a sleeping male passenger, punching him repeatedly in the face and head until blood was drawn.

“I saw blood flying when he was hit,” said Gupta. “My first thought was wondering if the attacker had an object, because I didn’t know you could do that kind of damage with your bare hands.”

Gupta added that it was only when another passenger restrained the attacker that she and another woman went to help the victim.

The victim, who is also deaf and non-verbal, suffered cuts on his face, a black eye and bruises, according to Gupta.

The flight crew then took the attacker to the front of the plane, and instead of restraining him, a crew member watched over him.

Gupta said the decision left many on board tense.

“(The victim) felt unsafe because his attacker was standing a few rows in front of him, and he kept writing and showing us. I am scared and I feel unsafe,” said Gupta.

Aviation expert Mike McCaron said the crew’s handling of the incident is confusing because standard protocol is to restrain the suspect — usually with plastic handcuffs — and find a nearby airport to land.

The United flight instead flew the remaining three hours to Dulles.

“The normal thing is you want to get to the ground as quickly as possible, first to get first aid for the person who was attacked and second to get the person off the plane and into police custody,” McCarron said .

In a statement, United said: “Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one passenger was restrained after becoming physically aggressive toward another customer. The flight landed safely and was met by paramedics and local law enforcement.”

Gupta said the crew appeared to be well-equipped on how to handle the situation or how to help a traumatized and injured hearing-impaired passenger.

“It shouldn’t happen; it just shouldn’t happen to anyone,” she said.